There are a ton more but it would get boring and while some have tried to defend his actions saying the club should let him leave for free after so many years service, the vast majority are appalled and rightfully so.

This is disgraceful from Koscielny, he got paid when the defence was woeful, he got paid when he was injured, he got paid no matter what and we are not talking minimum wage here.

Arsenal owes him nothing and the idea that he deserves a free transfer is a joke. Arsenal is not a charity and he has a contract that he must either see out or be sold for a fee.

I cannot see any justification in his behaviour whatsoever, he has acted in a totally unprofessional manner and I hope the club fines him to the maximum and throws him into the reserves.

To do anything else will be an open invitation to any other player that cannot get their way.

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102 Comments

Don’t know the full story ,but he’s been a proper player for us and if the club have refused his wish to have 1 more season playing in France then I would be siding with Kos .
He’s been sidelined with injuries for the past few seasons so maybe it means the club are not getting anyone new in and are keeping him to save spending money .

“Either the new club pays a transfer fee or he stays until his contract ends.”
what a load of BS, I don’t care which it is, but he’s earned his freedom to decide for himself, Let him stay till his contract ends? yes he could but why? so you lots can hurl abusive words and say all sorts of shít about him like you’ve been doing to Ozil for staying till his contract ends?

I disliked the player ever since he goofed up our first trophy in the drought era during the final of the Carling Cup in 2011 by allowing Obafemi Martins to score! And the needless fouls in the penalty box cost us precious points.And the lack of leadership on the pitch during his captaincy. This man is no Adams or Winterburn or Keown. Has been a disgrace on the pitch and now off the pitch.This is what happens when we sign nobodys and make them somebodys and pay them mega bucks. I know I will be disliked for this comment, but I never rated this chap after seeing the invincibles. Wenger had a policy to give players over 30 a single year rolling contract, I do not know why that was stopped.
Not a big fan of Emery, but now I pity him having to work with all these characters.

So, with your thinking, once a player has done nine years he can leave for free if he demands? So, Barcelona have a player, let’s call him Messi, he is with them from say 16 until 25 and then at 25 even with say three years on his contract and a value of £200 Million then he can just refuse to tour and be allowed to leave for a free? I mean, that may be an extreme example but that is exactly what you are saying.

I’m not saying we should let him leave for free, but you have to admit, this is a very, very bad comparison. Comparing someone who is almost 34 and worth maybe 10m max to a 25 year old who’s worth around 200m in your words. Comon, this doesn’t make sense at all. If you compare it to a Messi when he’s 35 years old and wants to leave for one last adventure in Argentina, then you got a fair comparison. And then you could say it would be fair from Barca to say he could leave for free after all he’s done for them.

Eddie, my friend, you are the one in the wrong. It’s exactly what Kos wants – a hefty sign-on fee to finish off his career. At the club’s expense. That’s not nice.
The club treating him like he’s Andre Santos and saying to the Ligue 1 side either pay the unfair transfer fee or wait a year to get their man.
They could meet half-way and give Kos for a reasonable fee for his age and his contract situation.
And if we were to measure the level of disrespect, that one is 100% on Kos.

He’s earned his freedom? Cech earned his freedom from Chelsea, and even then, we had to PAY 10mill for him. Cech was not allowed to leave on a free. If a club wants Koscielny they will have to pay just like a normal transfer. This is disgusting behavior from a club captain and just goes to show how bad of a captain he always was. At least Emery will stop giving that armband around like it’s a toy.

I still remember Oxlade-Chamberlain’s last performance against Liverpool. The Ox was uncharacteriscally unwilling to take any risk and chose to do a lot of back-passes, instead of racing with the opponents

Imagine if Koscielny decides to do silly things like Mustafi or loosen his marking

Patrick G where in my post have I said terminate contract and let him go for free .
Wish fans would read before going off on one and making words up that was never said .
Maybe next time Patrick read before you open your mouth .

What are you talking about ?so me siding with Kos means that I said we should terminate his contract and let him go for free ??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️??‍♂️That’s what I think of your post mate ,

Koscielny turned down big money moves, bigger clubs who won trophies almost every year and never demanded high wages But now pushes to leave Arsenal? Doesn’t make sense.Stinks of the club not holding up their end of an agreement to let him go.

He didn’t ask for the captain armband and not all players are good at managing team affairs on the pitch.

If he didn’t want to be captain then say you don’t want to be captain. And what bigger clubs did he turn down to stay? Any solid evidence of this besides some random newspaper linking him with PSG? We are so quick to vilify the club. Why exactly? If this were a player less liked we’d be furious. The fact you think this is acceptable from a club captain shows how low our standards have dropped.

He rejected Bayern Munchen and one of Barca/Madrid but I cant remember which of the two clearly.Who said I think it’s acceptable??I ain’t jumping on a bandwagon unless I hear his side of the story though I believe his actions are unwarranted.He has been a professional all these years and at least Id like to hear his side.On the captaincy, most would want to be captain and if for nothing it was because of his quality that he was given the band not because he leadership skills.Why should he decline the offer to captain such a historic club??Makes no sense for him.

Kev, I have a hard time believing Bayern would want to sign Kos around the same time period they were consistently battering us in the UCL. I think it is fair to hear his side of the story, but I can’t think of a scenario where he is right to simply refuse to travel. If you are in discussion with the club, then you keep discussing. A protest from the club captain is disgraceful.

As I said I am not in agreement with his actions but knowing Arsenal very well something bad must have played out somewhere.Hopefully he comes out with a statement.He actually rejected Bayern and I’m shocked you didn’t hear of this.They cared only about his quality and not the battering we received at their hands.If Kos wanted to leave Arsenal during his best years he wouldn’t have been short of suitors.Look at some of our players who have left to top clubs.He actually loved Arsenal and must have been very close to Wenger too.

There is sentimentality and there is fairness. Players who have shown loyalty and commitment to the club deserve special treatment.
If the figure I have seen quoted for his salary of 75,000 a week is correct, then release him from his contract and let him enjoy a high signing on fee back in France (most Arsenal fans think his time is finished here)
However, if it is 90,000 then it is top pay for our defenders apart from Kolasniac (free transfer) and Bellerin (don’t get why he should be paid more than Koscielny) and maybe we don’t owe him.
Tell me which Long serving team member, captain of the side, gets a salary as low as 75,000 (in the top six)??

Completely agree…arsenal fans are such hypocrites. When it comes to ozil they demand him to terminate his contract and stop bleeding the club, he should leave but when it is other way around they want a player to honour the contract. He has been very professional and never created any issue for the club since he has been here. Also I rate him one of the best defenders in his prime it’s just a shame other 9 players on the pitch had no clue when it came to defending.

Andrea White please,regardless what his salary is,as a player he has disrespected the club.it stinks more because he is the captain. He has been loyal to the club yes but equally the club has been loyal to him all the time.He has a contractual agreement to honour and if now he feels otherwise about it he can only request the club to listen to him.If the club thinks it is not the right decision to let him go on a free then let him honor the agreement.What he has done is unacceptable and the club should treat it with the contempt it deserves.

I could be wrong, but he is on a 120K/week and was offered a renewal with lower basic with performance bonuses,etc which he rejected (higher basic means fixed pay irrespective of the performance = comfort zone).The club is right, the mistake is that the offer made is one year too late.Should have been sold last year, with his “leadership” we won nothing.We may complain about our club, however the club treats all its players – past and present with respect and helps them when they need help at any given point of time.This has been a core value of the club, for which I am proud of.However the current players have started taking the club for a joyride.Let Bordeaux pay the nominal transfer fee and have their man.
And with reference to Ozil,no one wants his wages to be cropped or terminate his contract, we all want him to start providing us with those assists and goals.If he does not want to perform here, then he too may start looking out for a club.

The present state of Arsenal Football Club. Koscielny has served the club faithfully for nine years and deserves some respect from fans. Am not sure I like the state of the club since Wenger left. By now we will be having rumours about big signings. Instead we are being linked with average players, nothing interesting in the transfer news (it might mean no major investment), the manger doesn’t know how to defend, some claim he needs defenders yet we don’t look busy in the market trying to sign defenders. Next season will be very tough.

So what do we have now that Wenger is gone. We want to sign players from where? WHERE??, my question is to you Patrick_G. Man united started sorting themselves out immediately the season ended. I wanted Wenger gone but I didn’t think we will be like this after his exit.

Agree with you 100% about that clown money grabbing fool wenger if he had not inhertided the defence he did along with Bergkamp and and Wright he would not have lasted 20 months never manager did you know the player he substituted the most was Bergkamp

Well ozziegunner, after giving a thumbs up for that load of tosh from Raddy, I’m afraid you have gone down in my estimation of a level headed and mature supporter of The Arsenal.

Raddy, that defence he inherited was gone when we became the first club in the twentieth century to go undefeated during a season long campaign and, so far in the twenty first century, has not been equalled…have you forgotten that already?

Have you ever taken the time to read what Wrighty and Bergkamp say about AW? Let alone Adams, Dixon, Keown and Winterburn, the defence you mentioned?

Obviously not, perhaps you and ozzie should, because they are professional players who worked with the most successful manager this club has ever had, unlike you and your pathetic comments.
Bergkamp rates him as the most influentual man he has ever met in football, but I’ll let others decide if his thoughts mean more than yours when compared to the greatest player I have seen in our shirt.

Every year that AW’s teams QUALIFIED for the CL, his salary was paid for by doing just that.
This “money grabbing fool” brought in over an estimated billion pounds during his CL qualifications alone.

I assume that you have both been awarded OBE’s, the highest award available in France the Legion d’honneur for services to football, the capabilities to speak over seven foreign languages fluently, managed a top club in the premier league and named in the top fifty most successful managers ever list (30th)?
You must have even more qualifications in order to call this man “that clown money grabbing fool wenger”.

No wonder we are the laughing stock of the media and other clubs supporters, when one of our so called “fans” makes a statement like this and another so called “fan” endorses it!!

As for Kos, don’t pay his salary while we are in the USA, as he has broken his contract, then put him up officially for sale when we get back and get what we can for him…such a shame if it ends like this though.

Let him leave, he’s done enough and tried, gave all his best for the past nine years. That man went injured for over six months, returned halfway last season and somehow still got to be our best defender since Holding got injured, and people be talking about disrespect.
Who knows if he plans to play football for just one or two more seasons and he wants to do that at home? He wants to leave, let him go, the club needs to free wages and get in new defenders, it’s a win win for both parties.. I don’t see what the fuss is about.

Yes but he’s far better than Holding though.Holding is a player who hasn’t proven himself yet but he’s already thought of as good enough to start for us when in truth he is of similar quality to Chambers who many want sold.I remember a match at home against Wolves where our defence was ripped to shreds.That match exposed all our defenders on the day as not being good enough.Of all our CB’s it is Kos that I rate.I believe Bielik can become a starter for us but I’m not sure about Mavropanos just yet

He has been serving Arsenal for many years, hence he might feel he deserves some gifts from the club

If Arsenal allowed Giroud to change his allegiance to one of their biggest rivals in London as an appreciation of his service, why don’t they allow Koscielny to go too? He doesn’t want to go to Chelsea like Giroud or Man United like Sanchez, he only wants to retire in France

These so-called ungrateful Gunners and ex-Gunners like Sanchez and Koscielny have contributed a lot and played professionally till the end, so Arsenal should at least allow Koscielny leave after his peak. It’s useless to keep a want-away player, as what we have seen in Oxlade-Chamberlain

If he has got peoples backs up its the fact that he has refused to tour and nothing else, he has served the club well for nearly a decade, not sure if he has put in a transfer request or not or just refused to go, but asking for his contract to be torn up is a bit strong, if somebody is interested in him then make us an offer, for all his service I wouldn’t blame Arsenal for wanting a fee,if they make an offer then let him go.

I can’t be believe what I am hearing from some fans. He has a contract, therefore he has to work as per the terms of that contract (as most who are employed do) or another club pays out what’s renaming, end of. We are not a charity and what message does that send to our younger players, he is the club captain for gods sake.

Exactly right OZGooner, Arsenal has abided by the conditions of the contract applicable to it by paying and supporting him whether fit to play or injured. It is also reasonable that Koscielny abides by the conditions of the contract he signed applicable to him. Arsenal has been too often a soft touch.

I love Boss. He has given 9years of his career to us and I appreciate him for that. I’m all the club grant him his wish of returning home for free if there is any proof he extended his contract in the past without asking for pay rise. He has a year left in his contract and I know releasing him now will save us his salary but that will be a stupid thing to do for a club that doesn’t have enough money for transfer and has already released 7 players for free. The club that wants him should give us anything between 1m-3m and he is theirs.

Bull crap.
Let Kozzy leave. I have never heard the guy in all his 8 or so years here holding the club to ransom.
I keep being surprised that every time wages rumours are linked he is one of the lowest player in our squad season in season out. The likes of Mustafi and Xhaka make more than him. But you never hear Kozzy make a scene about getting more and more wages.

The man is 33 years old and has been a very calm and respectful player in all his time here while we have had overrated players defrauding us season after season by running down their contracts and taking us to the cleaners. Smh

I bet Arsenal are asking unrealistic money for him while he knows he will not be playing very many games next season.

You are making Kozzy to react in a way he is not known for. The man is so down to earth and is not known to be this type of person.

I’m seeing too much sentimentality in the comments. Sentimentality is one of the main reasons why this club has been in a mess for years. Letting him go on a free with a year left on his contract, would just make the club look even more pathetic than it already is, at very crucial time where we’re trying to restore our reputation. I thought fans wanted Arsenal to start acting more like a football club again, and less like a charity?

Arsenal are grateful to him for his service and professional manner over the years, but likewise he should be grateful to the club for giving him opportunities at the highest level. The whole things are ideally discussed behind a closed door, but if the club still need him because of whatever reasons (lack of fund, lack of alternatives or need him to mentor youngsters), he should man up and stay. Remember the greater good.
Btw why does our captains always set a bad example like this. Van Persie and Fabregas too were forcing a move while being a captain back then.

I’m very sure he’ll be one of the first name on the team sheet next season, so why is forcing a move. We’ve got no better defender, none is coming in at the moment. He should stay for one more season till Saliba will be available. Though I really like Koscielny.

This is just another f-up from the people in charge at Arsenal. These things almost never happen at Arsenal but somehow our captain is this desperate to take an action like this.
If Arsenal would have let him choose his next club and asked a small transfer fee this would never have happened. It’s not like we paid a lot of money when we bought him.

All of you are so sentimental. This is exactly how Arsene Wenger made so many poor choices and he was ridiculed for it. And now most of you are doing the same. Koscielny has to go at this point. You don’t come back from being a club captain protesting like this. Bordeaux, pay his transfer fee, or go somewhere else. Kos, if you want to be a free agent, I’m sure he can buy himself out of his contract. If Arsenal terminate, then the club has to pay the rest, and why should they? Either way, refusing to travel is a gross move from a supposed leader.

Also, I see many ppl on here saying to respect Kos for how long he has been here. Let’s not forget this guy has been routintely injured throughout his entire Arsenal career and the club has ALWAYS stuck by him, given him very generous contracts, and from what I can tell has always treated him with the utmost respect. Maybe Kos feels entitled to do what he wants at this stage, but the club is not out of line for wanting money from his departure. Chelsea got 10mill for Cech’s departure and he earned his move far more than Koscienly has earned his.

Could well be that, GunneRay.. nobody knows… or not for the time being anyway. I saw an article stating he’d buy his contract out. As long as we get some cash, whether it’s from him or Bordeaux! We bought him for 10m? What are the odds on us recouping that??

Let’s see if anyone is still interested in a 33-34 year old that’s been in the reserves a season.
The club has stood by Laurent through poor form and injuries. Giving in would set a bad precedent at the club.

With that number of goals we conceded last season? A leader? Thanks and well done 6LK. Emery’s high pace football may be too much for him since he is aging and has been exposed to passing and dominating football under Wenger, if he is pushing him self out of @FC, it shouldn’t be FOR FREE.

I dont think this has to do with game time. I dont even think this has to do with money. When he was off on a long injury he had said, even if I can play football again it will be my last season at arsenal.

Wow! Didn’t expect this from him at all. Either we let him sit in the stands for a season, which this stage of his career he wouldn’t want to do or we sell him for a nominal fee.
Should be stripped of the captaincy straight away in any case.
Good to see this from the club, to be honest. They could have kept it quiet and said he had an injury or personal commitments.
Maybe its a sign of the new hierarchy at the club and trying to promote a much more stricter environment for the players, in that if you don’t follow instructions, then we will be honest with the press etc and not cover up these kind of incidents.

Kocielneys actions have made it easy for our Management who should now suspend him as an example to others who may think they are more important than our Club.They are highly paid employees who need to realise they are privileged to be earning vast sums which the man in the street can only dream of.Until he apologises for his unjustifiable actions he should not be paid one penny more as he is in breach of his contract.Sadly Kocielney has forever tarnished his legacy with Arsenal.I for one will no longer be sad when he leaves.

I am sick and tired to reply to comments,I have never seen so many clueless fans in one club sadly ours, example Kos situation he is no traitor and people don’t understand that the best solution is to sell in order to get a few millions for a 34 years injury prone who in few months will be a free agent,sold his wages will be off the bill and free up space and moneye for a new player,and dare calling him a traitor how stupid,also Bielik has asked to leave arsenal with only one year left on his contract so forget him,I swear I am ashamed of the number of clueless Arsenal “fans”

To show you haven’t a clue Bielik is in the same situation as Kos who gave his best years to the club and if arsenal don’t sell Kos they’ll lose money in few months,keep paying him and take a place in the squad both we could things we could use to get a new player,do you know anything about football??

You have to understand that for 9 years he has sen the club let go of good players for nothing while he stuck by us giving his everything,he is now 34 years old, barely playing , Bordeaux wants him, how much do you think they can afford? not much, if he stays with us not playing because of his injuries while pocketing a high salary and could go at the end of the season for nothing,it is a win win situation for both camps,we get even a small fee for an injury prone 34,get him off the wage bill and free up a squad place or wait few more months with a worse result,free agent, who got paid a lot of money for nothing, you can see it is not about money for him or he would stay,an agreement must be found soon for the good of both parties,we have defenders back from injuries and also CHAMBERS

We need the money, 3-5 million would be fair, in respect to what Kos has done for us over the years. Some people calling him traitor and other names, for 9 years of service, REALLY. I do not recall him going to an EPL team, we have all heard interviews with him wanting to finish his football playing years in France.

He is our best CB and we should have been preparing for this, years ago, whatever plans management has must be put in place now, because I do not see him changing his mind after such a drastic decision has been made.

You don’t understand,letting him go for a small fee is the best,he won,t be playing many games this season while earning big money,if he leaves we’ll get a few millions for him and his wages will be off the bill Which frees up money and one more more place for a new player,he is 34 and in few months he will be a free agent so no money,he gave us his best years and is no traitor!I bet you are one of the fans who cries murder when we let a player runs out!!!

It’s quite simple, football is a buisness, if Kos has refused to go on the tour then he is in breach of contract and he doesn’t get paid until he decides to rejoin the team. If I refused to do my job I wouldn’t get paid so why should soccer players think they are any different.

Bizarre behaviour from him!
I hope hes Putin the reserves and also put up for sale asap, such a shame that hes now ruined his legacy with us.
I understand its over the recent contract negotiations that involved a 2 year offer of an extension but at a reduced salary based on performance bonuses much like the Wilshire scenario. Maybe Kos is thinking how can they do this when Ozil is getting paid so well! Mesuts situation is always going to haunt us until he leaves.
Kos must go now though or buy himself out of contract.
We must hope that holding comes back strong and Mavrapanos steps up. Also finding out now at least may prompt a search and purchase for another CB or loan at least.
Shame we cant send Kos to St Etienne and have Saliba now.

Also If there is an offer of performance based contract only it suggests to me he knows that his body has had it and hes going to be worse off financially due to a lot of time not being able to play
I do think we should have not got in this situation and should have taken his I need to leave next year statement seriously. Hes clearly struggling to keep pace with the pl now and knows he needs out back to Ligue one where things are slightly slower.
Surely a French team somewhere will swap a young CB with us for him?